Mitch Clark - did we dodge a bullet?

[Bluey's Dad 3,419]

I feel sorry for him.

The guy immense talent. Some of the games he played for us were unbelievable.

I would have loved to watch him play in the same forward line as Hogan.

[old dee 23,870]

49 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Fremantle are the ones who dodged this bullet. 

Spot on ET.

[old dee 23,870]

IMO we did not dodge a bullet, he cost us a serviceable player at best, a great one at worst  and $2+ million for a handful of games.

[dieter 3,325]

12 hours ago, jnrmac said:

 I have heard stories the club were VERY glad to see tha back of him.....

So yes dodged a bullet...

Yes, Roos and company didn't seem too upset about it.

[daisycutter 29,714]

1 hour ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Fremantle are the ones who dodged this bullet. 

and the bears

[beelzebub 23,382]

We dodged the ricochet

[3Dee 1,153]

I seem to recall him playing out of his skin for the Dees. 

[Fork 'em 6,990]

3 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

and the bears

Not sure they did.
Clarke caused the beginning of the end for Jonathan Brown.
Tell me this wasn't a deliberate elbow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10o9oR3TxUs

[Good Times Grimes 2,396]

2 minutes ago, 3Dee said:

I seem to recall him playing out of his skin for the Dees. 

He played really well when he was able to get on the park. Unfortunately backing out of the final year of his lucrative contract after the club supported him through his injury issues (which saw him only manage 15 games in three seasons) has ruined the goodwill that he gained from his performances in the red and blue. 

I'm glad that this guy is no longer on our list, as it seems to be the same story every year.

[nutbean 8,838]

9 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

Tell me this wasn't a deliberate elbow.

 

It wasn't a deliberate elbow.

[Fork 'em 6,990]

4 minutes ago, nutbean said:

It wasn't a deliberate elbow.

 
Saw him coming and stuck it in his face.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2016 by Fork 'em

[ChaserJ 5,157]

11 hours ago, fndee said:

...and I believe we swapped pick 12 to Brisbane for Clark not ten. Shame as I really liked the symmetry of CBDees post

Correct.  Brisbane selected Docherty with this pick who subsequently requested a trade to Carlton for a pick in the 30's.

I think in the end all parties got jibbed in the deal. In hindsight the 2011 draft wasn't a particularly great crop, so to have Tyson, Frost and Bugg on our list as players who were draft eligible for 2011 isn't a bad result given how many from that crop haven't kicked on or have flamed out altogether.

[John Crow Batty 8,878]

38 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

Not sure they did.
Clarke caused the beginning of the end for Jonathan Brown.
Tell me this wasn't a deliberate elbow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10o9oR3TxUs

To be fair Clark got shoved  into Brown's direction also. Brown might have courage but he should be aware there was a big lead up teamate in the box seat for the ball and in best position to take the mark.  Brown most times tries to do everything on his own.  If a teamate got into Hogan's space like that he deserves a whack  in the chops too. 

Edited March 2, 2016 by america de cali

[dazzledavey36 55,315]

24 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

 
Saw him coming and stuck it in his face.

 

 

Your kidding yourself aren't you?

[jnrmac 20,164]

4 hours ago, Nasher said:

This all feels like such a long time ago to me. Just another reminder of an era of lurching from one disaster to the next.

In fairness we were all pretty happy when he arrived. He was the first big name signing we had for a long time and his initial performances were inspiring.

It was dark times for us and his on-field swagger and dominance was a breath of fresh air and helped our young players stand taller. Its just a shame it was such a mirage..

The injury he received was a massive blow and the resulting shenanigans left a very bitter taste in our mouths. Most, if not all, of the sympathy he garnered evapourated with the Geelong deal.

So re-thinking the dodged bullet, maybe we salvaged the best we could from the deal in the end.

[hemingway 7,630]

Paying mega bucks to a player who cannot get on the park due to injury is the risk that every club takes when punting on a big name.  I am not sure there are any lessons. Clubs will always be tempted to pay more for a big name. Who is to say that Dangerfield will deliver particularly if he suffers from a debilitating injury. I can never understand clubs taking a player with a history of injury problems be it a first year recruit or seasoned player.  It is not the players fault be it Mitch Clark or Chris Dawes. You expect the club to do its due diligence in a professional and sensible manner. Jesse Hogan might be a great talent but there is always the risk of injury and a lack of return on the dollars spent in signing him up on a mega contract. All we can hope is that the club makes the right decision at the time based on all the available evidence and that the decision making process is not dominated by the views of one person. The last important thing to do is to pray to your God or Deity. 

[nutbean 8,838]

43 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

 
Saw him coming and stuck it in his face.

 

 

Was wrestling his way to the ball and had his direction changed in mid air by Corey Enright coming in from the side.

All happened in a fraction of second where bodies are flying in all directions....

Deliberate......right.....

[Pates 9,660]

2 hours ago, Fork 'em said:

Not sure they did.
Clarke caused the beginning of the end for Jonathan Brown.
Tell me this wasn't a deliberate elbow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10o9oR3TxUs

Um I would definitely say not a deliberate elbow. 

As the commentators said it was total carnage; he got shoved, Brown was backing back, about 4 players collided with each other.

2 hours ago, 3Dee said:

I seem to recall him playing out of his skin for the Dees. 

No doubt, it's difficult to not feel at least a little bit betrayed by him but you are not wrong. He was the first player in a long time I could say was a star when he was wearing the Red and Blue. He was on track to kick 10+ that day he got his foot injury and the way he went down typified the way he played for us; hard, courageous, and skillful. If he had stayed injury free for us it would've been a genius move getting him to the club to have with Jesse Hogan.

Luck was not on our side with him.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Pates

[poita 3,902]

I think I'd rather Clark than Lumumba. At least Mitch gave his all for us on the rare occasions he played. Lumumba barely gave us 50% effort last year.

[Redleg 41,410]

As I have said before, calf injuries can be career ending for older players. They just seem to re occur.

[nutbean 8,838]

9 minutes ago, poita said:

I think I'd rather Clark than Lumumba. At least Mitch gave his all for us on the rare occasions he played. Lumumba barely gave us 50% effort last year.

disagree.. I think Lumumba always give 100% effort - now if we want to discuss effectiveness - that is a different story....

[Juicebox 628]

18 minutes ago, poita said:

I think I'd rather Clark than Lumumba. At least Mitch gave his all for us on the rare occasions he played. Lumumba barely gave us 50% effort last year.

 

Are we not prepared to assume that the post season surgery he had on his ankles may have contributed to his output?

 

 

[FarNorthernD 5,861]

3 minutes ago, Juicebox said:

 

Are we not prepared to assume that the post season surgery he had on his ankles may have contributed to his output?

 

 

I'm certainly hoping that is the case. The bloke came third in the Pies B & F just before he came to us. There has to be more to him than what we saw last season

[Devil is in the Detail 883]

2 minutes ago, fndee said:

I'm certainly hoping that is the case. The bloke came third in the Pies B & F just before he came to us. There has to be more to him than what we saw last season

I think a more accurate snippet is his intercept mark and goal Round 1 2015.

[Demon Spofforth 289]

Sad story for mine. Some of those games he played for us were unbelievable. Him and Jesse on the park together and we win 3-4 more games last year.

Alas, can't help but feel betrayed when he said he didn't have it in him to play again but then popped up with a lucrative deal with the Cats.

And now he can't get on the park for them so the whole sorry saga just feels sad all round.